My first instinct right after finishing listening to "Arbutus" by Smokin' Cola was to take out my guitar from its case and start riffing away for a couple hours. Unfortunatelty, it is currently 10:30 pm where I live, and my neighbours might not be too enthusiastic of this, so I'll have to bore you guys with my review instead.
So, this EP presents us with 4 refreshing tracks of pure, solid alternative-rock, with a few influences from other subgenres of the same family. It sounds extremely fresh, dynamic, with the right dose of rage but declined in a sort of poetic way. The songs are built around powerful riffs and stomping grooves, with the eclectic voice of Dylan Steele (mastermind behind the whole project) giving an intense and expressive performance, using different timbres to adapt to the mood of different sections.
I really liked the overall sound of the instruments: the guitars are sharp but often not excessively distorted, but still cutting through the mix during the solos and creating a wall of sound when the song requires it. The variety of effects used also provides the tracks with different textures and colours. The drums are clear and loud, and I guarantee that on my latest listening, my foot kept tapping the floor for a for minutes after the last track ended because of how much the groove got engraved in my brain. The bass guitar is often more in the background, but it has moments when it can be more prominent and push the song forward.
The "rock and roll will never die" motto might sound old-fashioned nowadays, but artists like Smokin' Cola are here to remind us that it still remains true.